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The Ghana Armed Forces does not intend to deploy its personnel as Forest Guards unless duty calls to protect the country’s forest reserves, the Minister of Defence, Dr Omane Boamah, has disclosed.
He said even though protecting forest reserves was the duty of the forest guards, the GAF stands ready to offer them support when need be to ensure that they undertake their duties without hindrance.
Dr Boamah disclosed this at a meeting with members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior yesterday in Accra.
The meeting sought to afford members the opportunity to have a first-hand information on activities of the GAF, and their challenges.
The Minister stated that so far from January to May this year four forest reserves which the forestry guards could not enter due to illegal mining popularly called galamsey had been taken back, clearing all such activities from them.
He indicated that when that phase ends the Armed Forces would return to base to be re-assigned as there was no intention to keep them as forest guards adding that “At the moment we are not yet out of the woods, more work needed to be done.”
On internal security, the Minister stated that though Ghana was peaceful pockets of land and chieftaincy issues needed to be addressed and this calls for the effectively retooling of the GAF and other Security agencies in other to protect the country’ s borders against violent extremism and terrorism which had plagued its Sahel neighbours.
He said President John Dramani Mahama had dedicated part of the Big Push Agenda money to support in retooling the services.
The Minister stated that intensive efforts were also been made to conclude the maintenance and servicing of the Presidential Jet and other platforms to help in increasing surveillance as well as adequately prepare the GAF to be combat ready.
The Chairman of the Committee, James Agalga who commended the GAF for discharging their duties creditably assured that the Committee was prepared to support in the retooling efforts of the government.
He said the threat posed by violent extremism, terrorism and issues of galamsey should not be taken lightly but every effort must be made to support the GAF defend the country.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General William Agyapong, urged the committee to use available means to help sensitising communities currently engaged in communal and chieftaincy disputes to smoke the peace pipe
